This invention relates to a fired heater, having catalyst filled tubes and more particularly, to a flexible connector between catalyst tubes and the inlet header.
Fired heaters are often utilized to obtain an endothermic reaction in fluid which is passed through one or more catalyst filled tubes disposed within the radiant section of the heater. For example, the fired heater can be utilized as a steam-hydrocarbon reformer in which the tubes contain a catalytic material. Fluid, in the form of a mixture of steam and hydrocarbon, flows from a header, or manifold, located externally of the furnace to the tubes via a conduit connecting the header to each tube. Heat is produced in the furnace at a level sufficient to produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide in the tubes, for example.
In prior art arrangements, the mixture of steam and hydrocarbon is normally preheated before it is introduced into a distribution header, which, in turn, feeds the tubes.